HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope your holidays were filled with love and wonder. We had a very nice Christmas at home with just the 4 of us (7 if you include the critters). It snowed Christmas Eve and dd6 & I took the dogs out walking as we delivered the 11th day of christmas gift. It was so quiet and peaceful and pretty!

That snow melted but we have more on the ground now to help welcome the new year in. We really should have a winter retreat! Sipping hot chocolate by the fire as we sew all night and then snow ball fights during the day would be so much fun!




By now everyone should have her 1/4 yd of fabric for the retreat challenge. If you don't, please contact me and I'll get it out to you. If you don't remember what it looks like, here's a reminder:

If you are stuck inside, procrastinating on the challenge or if you just like reading, pick up a copy of a Beverly Lewis (click and you'll be taken to her website) novel and you'll get to read about the Amish in the area you'll be visiting in June.

That's less than 6 months from now! It'll be here before we know it. Hopefully not before we are ready though...So if you haven't gotten your 2nd payment to me yet, you'd better get hopping. January 3rd is the due date!

Update

Well, we've only got about 6 months until we're in PA for the 2013 COF Retreat! But first I must get through Christmas. I am hoping for snow :) I know that in many parts of the world Christmas comes in summer but to me it just isn't Christmas without the white stuff!

All of the fabric for the 1/4 yard challenge has been sent out. If you haven't received yours, please PM me or send me an email at COF2013PA@gmail.com to let me know. I think I finally figured out what I'm going to do with mine ;)

We're working on some great things for you and I hope you'll like them! This part of Pennsylvania is a great place to get out and see some sights that maybe you've never seen before. We won't be going to the town of Lancaster but you can go there on your own, it's only about 45 mins from Harrisburg. We will be going to Intercourse and Bird-in-Hand so if you want to do some research here are 2 sites to go to: Intercourse, PA & Bird-in-Hand, PA There may be a quiz to test your knowledge later...

The next payment is due on January 3, 2013. So if you didn't pay in full, better be getting ready to send it in - I'm sure you don't want to lose your space!

They're coming!

Be on the lookout! The fabric for the 1/4 yd challenge has been sent out via the USPS. Each one has a tracking number so that if anyone doesn't get hers in a few days I can find out where it went. I had a difficult time finding a fabric that I liked and thought most of you would like too. I hope I met the goal. I can't wait to see what y'all do with it! I hope to see some creative entries as well as some more traditional projects.

Here's the letter that is enclosed with the fabric. If any of you newbies need more information on what to do (as always) Just ASK! EBQG/Marlene is in charge of this challenge. Her email is: mgienow@comcast.net

Quarter Yard Challenge

Enclosed is your fabric for the 2013 Circle of Friends 1/4 yd challenge. You may love it, you may hate it but here it is. Those of you who have been to retreat before are used to getting a fat quarter but this year we decided to give each of you a whole quarter yard. You are not obligated to participate in the challenge but then you won’t have a chance to win one of the spiffy prizes!

The rules are simple:

You must use at least 70% of the 1/4 yd in this envelope, any other fabric selections are up to you - there are no limits there - but you cannot use more than the allotted yardage of the challenge fabric. No borrowing or buying extra fabric.

The 1/4 yd fabric must be on the “front” of your project, not just used as the backing.

That’s it, the rest is up to you. It does not have to be quilt related, you can create to your heart’s content, there are no size limitations.

Bring your CHALLENGE PROJECT to retreat in a brown paper bag (don't be showing it off ahead of time) and we will assign your project a number.

You will be given a ballot for voting for your favorite in the following five categories - and you can only vote once for a project

Most Creative

Best use of Challenge Fabric

Best use of Color

Best Workmanship

Most Out of the Box

--- REMEMBER ---

NO POSTING PICTURES OF THIS YEAR'S PROJECTS !!!!

Any questions: email me EBQG/Marlene at mgienow@comcast.net

I'm not going to post a picture of the fabric just yet because I want you to be surprised when you open the envelope! Have fun with it :)

new info

Ok Everyone - the Hotel Information has been added to the blog in a new tab - go to it, read it carefully and If you have a cookie, you may get busy!  BTW  - Officially the retreat starts on Friday, June 21 and ends on Sunday, June 23, 2013. You may check in on Tuesday the 18th & check out on Tuesday the 25th and still enjoy the special rate of only $95.00 per night! You will need to inform the associate of our code "COQ" to receive our special rate if you call in to make reservations.

I'll be sending out the 1/4yd fabrics for the retreat challenge on Monday  (that's Veteran's Day and no Post Offices are open so I am going to wait...) - I am SO excited! I can't wait to see what y'all do with it :) I, myself, have NO idea what I am going to do with it whatsoever! I really hope you like it. It was so hard to pick one that represents everything I wanted it to - i.e. - ALL of us :)

After Sandy

Well, Sandy has come and gone and we were so very fortunate to be left relatively unscathed. We lost power Monday after supper and it didn't come back until Thursday around noon. We had 3 romantic dinners for 4and fortunately we have a gas stove so I was able to cook. Cooking by candlelight was an interesting experience! We have 2 teenage girls to wash the dishes the "old fashioned" way (and a gas water heater!) so that was good - I did let them wash in the morning when there was light in the kitchen. Sunday before the storm we filled up the propane tank in case we needed the grill and went to the library to stock up on reading material. I was only able to finish 2 books and I got some cutting done for a quilt I'll be naming Sandy.

Since the city and most of the surrounding area had no power the post offices obviously had no power either and there has been no mail service. Because of this I am going to extend the deposit deadline to the 10th. So if you haven't already mailed - Get it done NOW!

still getting the hang of all this...

For everyone's information -- the official e-mail address for COF 2013 PA is COF2013PA@gmail.com  -- I promise to check it regularly now that I've remembered 1) I have it and 2) how to sign in :/

Today I will be sending out the fabrics to be used as the "thread" in the middle of the Row Robin project 25 courageous ladies have signed up for. This is going to be AMAZING to see them all lined up side by side in our conference room! Be sure to bring your cameras!!!

We have over 1/2 of the first payments in and a little less than 2 weeks to get the rest to me. If you haven't sent yours yet - please do! I wanna hold your place so we'll see your wonderful face in Harrisburg! It won't be nearly as much FUN without YOU!!!

Row Robin

We were so inspired by the Rambling River Project we saw at the show we went to in Springfield, MO that we decided to use the idea in this year's Row Robin. Here's a photo of the project.

We decided to use a fabric to symbolize the "thread of friendship" in the RR and that it should run through the center of the quilts so that when they hang side by side the thread will (should) continue around the room and look pretty amazing!

When we got home I opened my American Quilter Magazine and found this, a photo in which they used the color wheel to run through their quilts.

See how the color runs red to green through the middle of the quilts? Our "thread" will be all the same fabric but it will run through the quilts in the same way.

***Psst ***
Don't tell Jane that I'm doing this, ok? Here's a peek at the fabric chosen to be the "thread":